Obituary of Harold William James McLaren

McLAREN: Harold William James McLaren, beloved husband of Gladys, passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 7, 2015 at Rideau Park Personal Care Home. Harold was born on August 31, 1918, to Bill and Lena McLaren, and grew up on the family farm in the Montgomery District near Virden, Manitoba. He was very interested in sports including curling, hockey, baseball, and in later years was very involved in organizing outdoor and indoor shuffleboard tournaments. Harold and Gladys were married on February 20, 1941 and farmed for 12 years in the Montgomery District. He started working at the McLeod's store in Virden, later working for the McLeod's store in Foam Lake, Saskatchewan and built the McLeod's store in Hamiota, Manitoba, where they both worked for many years. While in Hamiota, Harold was involved with the town council and serving as Mayor of Hamiota for four years. He was also a member of the local Lions Club, Masons Club and involved in many community activities. They moved to Brandon in 1980 where he worked for Perth's until 1997. They vacationed in the British Isles in 1977, Victoria, BC in the fall of 1977 and the east coast of Canada in 1989. Harold and Gladys had 74 wonderful years together. In their retirement, they wintered at Pine to Palm Park in Weslaco, Texas for 18 years, later moving to Osoyoos and Penticton, British Columbia. They made many great friends in all their travels and had many wonderful memories to talk about. They moved back to Brandon in July of 2013 to Victoria Landing. Due to health issues, Harold was moved to Rideau Park in January of 2015. Harold was predeceased by his parents, Bill and Lena, brother Jack, sister-in-law Kay and grandson, Mark Kachur. Harold is survived and will be dearly missed by his wife Gladys, children: Marlene (Leighton) Kachur, Barbara (Ronald) Funk, Teresa (Allan) Deutsch and Bill (Shirley), 11 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. A private family service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Heart & Stroke Foundation, Unit 3-824-18th Street, Brandon, MB, R7A 5B7.